Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Sainsburys Sour Cream & Onion Lentil & Pea Cakes ultra-processed?

122 g Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Sainsburys Sour Cream & Onion Lentil & Pea Cakes

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 28 ingredients
  • 4 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Lentil Flour 77%, Rapeseed Oil, Sour Cream, Onion Seasoning (Whey Powder (Cows' Milk), Salt, Buttermilk Powder (Cows Milk), Cheese Powder (Cows' Milk), Onion, Tomato, Dextrose, Garlic, Acidity Regulators (Malic Acid), Sodium Diacetate, Flavouring, Yeast Extract, Parsley, Cayenne Pepper, Paprika Extract), Green Peas 6%, Contains Animal Rennet, m Allergy advice, Also not suitable for customers with an allergy to sesame and soya due to manufacturing methods, The flavouring used in this product is sourced from natural sources

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E262 Sodium acetates , E262ii Sodium diacetate , E296 Malic acid

As written on the pack

Lentil Flour (77%), Rapeseed Oil, Sour Cream & Onion Seasoning (Whey Powder (Cows' Milk), Salt, Buttermilk Powder (Cows Milk), Cheese Powder* (Cows' Milk). Onion Powder, Tomato Powder, Dextrose, Garlic Powder, Acidity Regulators: Malic Acid, Sodium Diacetate; Flavouring, Yeast Extract, Parsley, Cayenne Pepper Extract, Paprika Extract), Green Peas (6%). Contains Animal Rennet. m Allergy advice: For allergens, see ingredients in bold. Also not suitable for customers with an allergy to sesame and soya due to manufacturing methods. The flavouring used in this product is sourced from natural sources

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
2 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Cheese Cheese is milk preserved with salt, cultures and rennet.

How the NOVA groups work

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00481533, last edited 27 March 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.